Automatic machines for loading tape into cassettes in which the cassettes to be loaded with magnetic tape are disposed in a magazine located above a loading station are known. Such loading or storage magazines are adapted to receive a given amount of cassettes to be processed which are horizontally oriented and disposed consecutively upon each other to form an upright stack. At the lowermost end of the stack, the cassettes are picked up one-by-one by transferring means which engages them sequentially in the loading station to carry out the tape loading operations.
One example of such a cassette loading machine is given in the European Patent No. 0 281 884 by the same inventor.
In such a feeding apparatus, the cassette stack located in the magazine is supported by a plate-like element movable from a rest position in which it is oriented in a horizontal plane to offer a seat for the cassette stack, to a second position in which it is inclined at an angle of about 30.degree. in order to cause the bottommost cassette in the stack to slide from the plate-like element to a pair of guide plates extending vertically between the magazine and the loading station of the cassette loading machine, by which guide plates said cassette is engaged at the opposite sides thereof.
In greater detail, the guide plates engage the cassette through corresponding slide grooves extending parallelly to each other according to a curvilinear extension. The cassette, while following the slide grooves under gravity, is gradually rotated from the inclined orientation exhibited when entering the guide plates, to a vertical orientation at the lower end of the slide grooves. The lower and slide grooves are arranged in alignment with corresponding fitting guides in the loading station which are designed to receive cassettes and operatively engage them, one at a time, in the loading station.
The cassette's descent along the slide guides is assisted by a support element operatively disposed between the guide plates and vertically movable between the plates to cause the gradual descent of the cassette until it reaches the fitting guides disposed associated with the loading station.
While the above-described system and method has been quite effective, it is problematic when the magazine is required to be disposed very close to the loading station of the cassette loading machine. In fact, the normal path travelled by the cassette so that it may be vertically oriented requires significant space between the magazine and the loading station.
In addition, the time necessary to eject the cassette from the loading magazine, bring it into engagement between the guide plates and move it along the entire length of the slide grooves undesirably impairs the production rate in cassette loading machines.